Reusse blog: Saints' fever, no-hitter have downtown Dumont hopping

Blog Post by: Patrick Reusse

August 27, 2013 - 11:44 AM

The Dumont Saints drafted Mike Adelman as a pitcher from rival Clinton for the Class C tournament. On Saturday, Adelman threw the 20th no-hitter in the 90-year history of the state amateur baseball tournament. The no-hitter came in a 2-0 victory over Lamberton in the second round.

Here's the final out of that game, captured from the stands:

Adelman was referred to as a "junk baller'' in the tournament blog that can be found at minnesotabaseball.org. And there's zero wrong with that. Two junk ballers will be pitching against each other on Wednesday night at Target Field: K.C.'s Bruce Chen vs. the Twins' Andrew Albers.

Dumont is located in far western Minnesota. The population was listed at an even 100 after the 2010 census. Ava at the Dumont post office said in a phone conversation that a couple of people had moved into Dumont since then, and she couldn't think of anyone who had departed.

She was asked to describe downtown Dumont and gave this report: "There's a liquor store, but that's closed and for sale. There's a cafe, but that's closed and for sale. And then there's a fire hall and the post office. That's it on the main street.''

There is a convenience store on Highway 75, Ava said, which also is where the grain elevators for two companies can be found.

And the baseball field? "There are still ball fields ... for softball,'' she said.

How about the town's baseball team? "The Saints are doing great,'' Ava said. "They are in the state tournament. They play home games six miles away, in Wheaton.''

The Saints share the field with the Wheaton Walleyes. With Adelman's no-hitter, the Saints have reached the final weekend of the state amateur tournament. There are 16 survivors in single-elimination Class C and six teams still alive in double-elimination Class B.

CLASS B on Friday: Cold Spring and Shakopee play in the winners bracket at 7 p.m. in Delano. Savage plays Moorhead at 5 p.m. and Austin plays Eagan at 7:30 p.m. in the losers bracket in Maple Lake.